Suzuki

Suzuki first half unit sales down -11 percent in Europe

Suzuki has reported results for the first six months of its 2016 – 2017 financial year (the period to September 30, 2016) that show global net sales from motorcycles of 93,521m yen, which is down substantially from the 123,334m yen reported for the year-ago period; but the company has achieved a reduced loss of -667m yen for the first six months of 2016, compared to 1,211m yen for the year-ago period.

In unit terms Suzuki reports 499,000 units sold worldwide in the first six months, down from 529,000 units in the comparable year-ago period. Some 24,000 of those were sold in Europe (11.11 percent compared to 27,000 in 2015) and 10,000 in the United States (down by - 59 percent from 17,000 units in the first six months of 2015).
Unit sales in its domestic Japanese market remained stable at around 31,000 units; sales elsewhere in Asia were modestly down at 354,000 units, from 355,000 in 2015.
Total corporate consolidated net sales (automotive, motorcycle, marine and power products) were 1,498,956m yen, down by 56,566m yen (-3.6 percent) from the 1,555,522m yen recorded for the year-ago period.

In&motion

Airbag vest to get 1m km consumer testing?

Following the news last month about French designer In&motion’s introduction of what is claimed to be the first autonomous airbag vest and their link-up with French apparel maker IXON, the company says it is now ready to embark on the next stage of product development.
In a bold but creative move the company is giving its airbag vest to a cross-section of 500 riders across Europe, so that real-world usage data and feedback can be used to inform final commercial launch version product specification and manufacturing decisions.
Termed their “Airbag Revolution Campaign”, the ergonomic airbag vest is designed to be worn under any type of jacket and is a totally autonomous system (no cable nor captor on the motorbike needed) and features an integrated, certified back protector.

CEO Rémi Thomas said that “thanks to the experience acquired over the last years, we’ve already developed an alpha version of the airbag for motorcycles users. In the meantime, we’ve been working with several experts to endorse the proposed solution.
“However, as with our previous projects, we really want to integrate ideas, comments and suggestions from our future users. The goal is to offer a product conceived for and by bikers by having the 500 selected riders involved”.

The 500 selected riders will receive the In&motion airbag in spring 2017 and will be able to use it for 180 days. Online registration of the interested riders will take place until January 16th.
“Our secret goal is to have the 500 cover more than one million kilometres to give us the best possible sample of use conditions and duration.

www.airbagrevolution.com

Austrian motorcycle registrations

Austrian motorcycle registrations +5.59 percent for first nine months of 2016

The latest data released by the motorcycle trade association in Austria (arge2Rad) shows registrations of new motorcycles of over 125cc up by 15.94 percent in the third quarter of 2016 at 3,266 units, and up by +5.59 percent for the first nine months of the year at 12,176 units – continuing the start of market recovery in Austria that was first seen in the final quarter of 2015.
In total powered two-wheeler terms, registrations were up by +7.55 percent for the second quarter of the year in Austria, at 17,260 units, and are +5.20 percent (37,652 units) for the first nine months of the year.
Not surprisingly, KTM is Austrian market leader (in its home market), having sold 3,308 motorcycles in the first nine months of 2016 (+4.78 percent). Second was Honda (2,867/+0.49 percent); Yamaha third (2,499/+6.57 percent); BMW fourth (1,711 units/+7.41 percent) and Aprilia fifth (1,566 units/+1.89 percent).

www.arge2rad.at

Airsal

Airsal to launch new advanced-tech off-road cylinder programme

Early 2017 will see Spanish small cc motorcycle, scooter and moped engine, cylinder, piston and engine heads manufacturer Airsal launch a new range of off-road cylinders for leading brands such as KTM, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Gas Gas.

The cast cylinders and CNC precision machined

The cylinders are traditionally hand cast

Founded in 1986, Airsal manufacture some 15,000 to 16,000 cylinders a month at the 3,000 sqm Centelles, Barcelona facility they moved to in 1999, and export to more than 30 countries worldwide. Their cylinders are made in aluminium with Scanimet interior coating - an extremely hard, durable and heat resistant, high performance nickel-silicon carbide (carborundum) proprietary technology.

Extensive quality control testing

Airsal’s new off-road cylinders (including for KTM 250cc engines as seen here) feature their proprietary Scanimet internal coating – a high performance, durable and heat reistant nickel-silicon carbide (carborundum) technology

IDN met with Airsal’s Export Sales Manager Frank Gali on the Mandelli booth at EICMA (their Italian distributor). Frank told us that “the new line will include a huge range of 250cc 4-stroke models and we are already working on an upgrade to our new 2017 catalogue with options for 450cc models and 2-strokes…we plan to be offering more than 30 different off-road engine cylinder options within the next 2-3 years”.

AIRSAL
www.airsal.com

Dutch motorcycle registration

Dutch motorcycle registration at highest level since 2009

The latest data released by BOVAG/RAI/RDC (the Dutch motorcycle industry trade association consortium) shows that motorcycle registrations in the Netherlands were +9.9 percent (11,878 units) for the first 10 months of 2016 – more than 1,000 units up on the same period of 2015.
In fact, after 10 months, 2016 has already seen more new motorcycles sold there than was the case for the full year in 2015.
By way of comparative reference, in 2009 the number of new motorcycles sold in the Netherlands was 14,790, while the average market total in the 15 years before was almost 17,000 units per year.
In 2013, motorcycle sales reached an all-time low of 9,335 units, but since then the market is growing, with an approximately 1,000 units, or 10 percent a year growth rate.
This year has seen BMW’s traditional grip on the Dutch market challenged – with Yamaha taking over market leadership after the first 10 months with 1,794 units sold, an increase of around 9 percent year-on-year.
BMW is second with 1,756 units (+2.3 percent); Kawasaki third (1,460 units, +18.9 percent); Honda fourth (1,438 units, +29.8 percent) and Suzuki fifth (1,158 units, +2.8 per cent).
As at November 1st 2016, the total number of motorcycles registered for road use in the Netherlands (the total “bike park”) stood at a record number of 720,889 motorcycles. That is nearly 4,000 units more than a year ago, more than twice as many as 20 years ago (335,000) and almost six times as many as in 1986, when the Netherlands had just 124,000 motorcycles.
In the last 30 years it is not just the numbers of motorcycles on the road in the Netherlands that has changed out of all recognition. A very high proportion of the motorcycles on the road there in the 1980s were either small cc machines such as mopeds and scooters (especially following a 1960s scooter boom there) and, still, restored WL45 unused war surplus Harley-Davidsons (“Liberators”) that were “liberated” from the Antwerp docks in Belgium in the summer of 1945 after WWII had ended, before they had seen active service!

Dutch ‘Bike Park’

• 1976: 68,700
• 1986: 124, 000
• 1996: 335, 000
• 2006: 616,282
• 2016: 720 889*

*As at 1-11-16

Japanese made motorcycle exports

Japanese made motorcycle exports to Europe +17.59 percent for first nine months of 2016

The latest data released by JAMA (the automotive trade association in Japan, which includes representation of motorcycle manufacturers among its membership) shows exports of 250cc+ Japanese made motorcycles to Europe up by +6.98 percent in September (7,265 units), having been down by -11.98 percent in June, and up by +17.59 percent for the first nine months of 2016 (125,750 units).

This is the best first nine-month performance since 2009. For the full year 2015, European motorcycle imports from Japan were down by -3.65 percent at some 151,000 units.
Japanese manufactured total PTW exports to Europe were -2.69 percent in September at 19,214 units, having been -12.95 percent in August. They are running at +15.98 percent for the first nine months of 2016 at 139,969 units in total – the best first nine months for Japanese made PTW exports to Europe since 2010.
Motorcycle shipments from Japan to the USA were -35.59 percent in September (5,133 units) and are -33.77 percent for the year-to-date at 50,899 units; worldwide Japanese made motorcycle exports were -9.47 percent in July (17,146 units), but are +3.36 percent for the year-to-date (196,777 units).
Total worldwide Japanese manufactured PTW exports are -1.10 percent for the first nine months of 2016 at 303,318 units – their lowest in the 21st century, having peaked at 1.641m units in 2000.
The increasing number of units being made by the Japanese manufacturers elsewhere in Asia, the US and South/Central America goes some way to explaining the data, although the majority of higher value, larger displacement Japanese brand machines, especially those being sold in Europe, are still made in Japan.
Their overseas factories are primarily engaged in making and selling scooters and smaller capacity units in 'emerging' markets (where import tariffs are high) and in making ATV/UTV units - especially in the United States, where demand for such machines is strongest.

Wunderlich

Wunderlich’s ‘Digimoto’

“Futuristic, but still traditional, minimalistic, but still extraordinary” is how German BMW parts and accessory specialist Wunderlich describes its latest concept bike. ‘Digimoto’ is a sneak-peak into one possible version of the future. 

Conceived in collaboration with Munich based designer Christian Zanzotti, with concept and virtual reality prototyping by Gray Development, ‘Digimoto’ may never roll off a production line near you any time soon, but that’s not the point.
The point has been to demonstrate one version of a possible riding future where electronics have taken complete control of the two-wheel experience.
Unveiled at ‘INTERMOT Customized’ in October, ‘Digimoto’ is a BMW R 1200 R, but not as we know it (Jim!) – we’ll let Wunderlich tell you the story themselves. “Completely assembled in a state-of-the-art manufacturing technique, based on a radically scaled frame of the BMW Roadster, plus the Boxer engine. Traditional handcraft techniques, such as sharpening of raw aluminium, complement the whole production process.

“The sensor panel of the Digimoto-bike is a complete novelty. The panel exists of various sensors and cameras, which send information in real-time to the visor of the rider. This visualisation of all information relevant to the rider allows a complete elimination of all display elements on the bike, resulting in a unique and simple design of the motorbike.
“The sensor panel effectively replaces and eliminates the need for any kind of instrumentation. Made up of sensors and cameras that send real-time information to the helmet  visor (heads-up-display technology), the rider is able to assimilate, visualise and respond without engaging with conventional controls - in fact the bike's information, command and control systems will make all the riding decisions itself, responding instantly to the environment, traffic conditions, speed limits, dangers and opportunities.
“Wunderlich was responsible for the technical realisation of this project. The experience of more than three decades of development work allowed the Wunderlich technicians to create a futuristic and ridable motorcycle out of a revolutionary vision”.

www.wunderlich.de

Airoh

REV modular helmet

REV is a flip front thermoplastic helmet for the tourism/road segment, with a weight of 1,650g, that can be worn either as a full or open face due to a patented rotation of the protective chin guard.

“Equipped with a newly designed and patented chin guard and visor rotation system, features include a special “ACVS” - Airoh Combined Ventilation System – that guarantees maximum comfort, even on long journeys and in the most extreme conditions.
Italian specialist Locatelli, the manufacturer of the Airoh brand, say that “this revolutionary new design concept has allowed us to take touring to a new level of comfort and versatility”.

REV is available in sizes from XS to XXL and in various colourways in gloss and matt finishes, has a compact and aerodynamic profile with a wide field of view, and a sun visor that is supplied with an anti-fog treatment.

LOCATELLI S.p.A.
www.airoh.com

ShowZone 2017

UK Dealer Expo, Stockholm, Zurich, Dublin and Madrid headline a busy new year show schedule
 
The ‘majors’ may be over for another year (two years in the case of INTERMOT), but with the debut of ‘INTERMOT Customized’ showing that there is vibrancy on the biggest of stages.
However, the next three or four months now see a number of the smaller European markets and specialty events take their moment in the spotlight as we head into 2017.
The new year kicks-off with the popular UK Dealer Expo at Stoneleigh, near Coventry in England, opening its doors for the 22nd time for three days from Sunday January 15 to Tuesday 17.

With new motorcycle registrations growing quickly in the UK, the past four years are said to have seen an average of 3,800 visitors representing some 1,800 UK motorcycle industry businesses. With research showing that 89 percent of all show visitors are decision makers, with 80 percent of them going there to do business, it is no wonder that a massive 91 percent of 2016 exhibitors said they planned to return in 2017.

The UK Dealer Expo is Europe's largest Dealer specific show. It averages 3,800 visitors, representing some 1,800 businesses, 89 percent of who are said to be buying "decision makers"; at the time of going to press IDN was told that exhibit space is already sold out for 2017, with 6 weeks to go until the show opens on January 15th, 2017

The Expo is some 30 minutes away from Birmingham International Airport and at the heart of the UK motorway network 
www.motorcycle-expo.com
A week later Moto Bike Expo (MBE) will fill four halls at the Verona Expo Centre in northern Italy from Friday January 20 to Sunday 22. A combined custom and ‘mainstream’ consumer expo, “Verona” has seen attendance grow ever since its move from Padua in 2009. www.motorbikeexpo.it
At the end of January, Sweden’s annual show, MC-Massan, returns to the capital Stockholm (26 to 29 January 2017) in its biennial rotation with Gothenburg. www.mcmassan.se
Meanwhile, in the United States, the annual specialty V-Twin Expo will take place at its usual downtown exhibition centre venue in Cincinnati, Ohio (Saturday January 28 and Sunday 29. www.vtwin-expo.com
Billed as “The Only Show of its Kind”, which it is - as the only independently owned and operated dealer show for the Harley-Davidson aftermarket and custom v-twin parts and accessory industry – it is nonetheless a crowded few weeks for motorcycle dealers of all kinds in the United States with the market’s two major parts and accessory distributors holding their own dealer shows in February: Tucker Rocky/Bikers Choice are playing host to their dealers in Texas on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 of February, and just 10 days later Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties set up shop at the RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February.

In fact, that weekend are at least three motorcycle industry events in play that we know of, with the annual MCN Show (as it is known) taking place at the Excel Expo Centre in East London from January 17 to 19 www.mcnmotorcycleshow.com and the excellent Swiss Moto being staged at Zurich from February 16 to 19 www.swiss-moto.ch; the following weekend it is the chance for Dutch riders to join in the fun with Motorbeurs, the largest motorcycle show in The Netherlands, taking place from 23 to 25 January at Utrecht www.motorbeursutrecht.nl

Highlights in March and April include (but are not limited to!) the biennial Carole Nash Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show, taking place at Dublin, Ireland, from March 3 to 5
www.irishmotorbikeshow.com; MotoSalon, Prague, March 2 to 5 www.pvv.cz;  Moto Days, Rome, March 9 to 12 www.motodays.it; Daytona Bike Week, Florida, USA, March 10 to 19
www.officialbikeweek.com

MotoMadrid from March 24 to 26 www.salonmotomadrid.com; Tokyo Motorcycle Show, March 24 to 26 www.motorcycleshow.org; InaBike, Jakarta, Indonesia, March 29 to April 1 www.inabike.net; Motorcycle Taiwan, 20 to 23 April www.motorcycletaiwan.com.tw

Yamaha

Yamaha unit sales up in Europe and Japan for nine months to September 30th 2016

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced consolidated business results for the first nine months of its 2016 financial year that put consolidated sales at 1,132.8 billion yen, (a decrease of -93.4 billion yen or -7.6% compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year), and operating income of 88.9 billion yen (a decrease of -16.1 billion yen or -15.3%).
Developed markets experienced a decrease in sales and income compared with the same period the previous fiscal year due to the appreciating yen. In the emerging markets motorcycle business segment, while net sales decreased due to lower unit sales in Indonesia and Brazil, operating income increased compared to the previous year thanks to product mix improvements and the effects of cost reductions such as promotion of the platform transition.
Net sales of motorcycle products overall were 699.2 billion yen (a decrease of -85.0 billion yen or -10.8% compared with the same period the previous fiscal year), and operating income was 28.6 billion yen (a decrease of -4.8 billion yen or -14.3%).
For unit sales in developed markets, while Japan and Europe experienced increases, the planned reductions in distribution inventories in North America led to overall unit sales on almost a similar level as the previous year.
Unit sales in emerging markets such as India, Vietnam and the Philippines increased, but decreased in Indonesia and Brazil due to market slumps etc. These results led to an overall decrease in motorcycle business net sales.
Operating income increased in emerging markets thanks to product mix improvements and the effects of cost reductions such as promotion of the platform transition, but decreased in developed markets due to the appreciating yen, leading to a reduction in income overall.

Italian motorcycle registrations

Italian motorcycle registrations +18.30 percent for the first 10 months of 2016

The latest data released by the Italian motorcycle industry trade association (ANCMA, Milan) shows new motorcycle registrations for the first ten months of 2016 up by +18.3 percent at 69,300 units for the year-to-date. In October, the market was worth 3,859 new motorcycles, +12.7 percent.
Total PTW registrations were +11.5 percent (177,084 units) for the first 10 months of 2016; in October total PTWs were +4 percent (11,305 units).
Scooter sales were +7.5 percent for the first 10 months of the year at 107,784 units sold. The largest scooter market is for 125cc machines, which account for 39,897 of all scooter sales in Italy, +12.5 percent over the first 10 months of 2015. Next largest is the 300 – 500 cc sector, at 33,735 units, which is up by +4.8 percent. The high-value 500cc+ maxi scooter market is up by +3.7 percent at 8,028 units. The 150 to 250cc scooter market in Italy was +5.1 percent for the first 10 months of the year (26,124 units).
The top selling motorcycles in Italy so far this year are the BMW R 1200 GS, the Honda ‘Africa Twin’, Honda’s NC 750 X and Ducati’s Scrambler 800.
In unit number terms, the largest market sector in Italy in the first ten months of the year was the ‘Naked’ style bike market, which at 24,573 units was up by +21.1 percent over 2015, followed by the Enduro market (22,863 units, +27.00 percent over 2015). Supermotard models are +37.2 percent on low volumes (2,607 units); tourers are up by +3.3 percent (8,223 units).

Motorcycle registrations in Spain

Motorcycle registrations in Spain +10.39 percent January – October 2016

According to the latest data released by the motorcycle industry trade association in Spain (ANESDOR), the motorcycle market there was up by +11.42 percent in October (12,171 units).

The market in Spain is now running at +10.39 percent for the year-to-date at 126,511 units (the highest for the first 10 months of the year since before 2009).
Moped registrations in October were +16.64 percent (1,521 units) and are +6.15 percent for the first eight months of the year at 14,319 units.
Total PTW registrations were +10.02 percent in October (13,692 units) and are up for 2016 so far by +9.23 percent for the year-to-date (140,828 units in total).
For the year-to-date Honda remains market share leader in Spain, having sold 21,684 units for a 17.1 percent market share, followed by Yamaha (19,183 units, 15.2 percent share) and Kymco (16,980 units, 13.4 percent share).
Scooter sales are up by +5.2 percent so far this year and represent some 64 percent of the total PTW market (80,677 units YTD). Road-going motorcycles are +20.2 percent so far in 2016, accounting for 32 percent of the market (40,954 units), and while off-roaders are +29.9 percent YTD, they only account for 4 percent of total PTW sales (5,140 units YTD).
ANESDOR General Secretary Jose Maria Riano welcomed the continued growth, pointing to this having been the best October since 2009, but warned that with many consumers rushing to get Euro-3 compliant vehicles on the road before the law changes (all new PTWs will have to be Euro-4 compliant for January 1st 2017), it remains to be seen if the growth seen in the second half of the year will sustain into the first months of 2017.

FEMA

Autonomous cars to be tested with motorcycles

Following widespread concerns raised by some of Europe’s riders’ rights organizations, including Brussels based FEMA (the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations), vehicle authorities in Europe will cooperate with motorcyclists’ organizations and conduct their own test program with different brands of semi-autonomous cars.

Arjan Everink (KNMV), Dolf Willigers (FEMA), Anton van der Heijden (RDW), Jan Sybren Boersma (RDW) and Wim Taal (FEMA) – the RDW has agreed that testing with motorcycles should be part of the test protocol for European type approval of so-called autonomous cars and those with cars with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, including systems such as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Changing System (LCS). Field tests could start as early as 2017.

Those concerns center around the extent to which the testing of fully and semi-autonomous systems had been calibrated to account for the presence of motorcycles.
This is in response to lobbying of RDW – the Dutch Vehicle Authority that issued the European type approval for Tesla – by FEMA, the Motorcycle Action Group in the Netherlands, and the KNMV, the Royal Dutch motorcycle riders association.
At a meeting with the RDW, at which the motorcyclists’ worries were discussed, it transpired that despite granting type approval, the RDW shared many of the concerns raised.

As a result, the RDW proposes - in cooperation with the motorcyclists’ organizations - to conduct their own test program with different brands of cars with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. RDW also believes, as do the riders, that testing with motorcycles should be part of the test protocol for European type approval.
Dolf Willigers, General Secretary of FEMA, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of this first meeting with the experts of RDW. We are going to act together and we will see in the field tests to which extent the technique takes motorcyclists into account.”

Comment by Editor, Robin Bradley

Technology, technology and more technology

I’ve never been to the famous Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – famous as the showcase for cutting-edge new tech, and trend pathway to the future of consumer devices and diversions.
But INTERMOT and EICMA this year showcased the ever-closer link between electronics and the motorcycle ownership and riding experience.
We’ve been accustomed to rider communications systems for several years. Vendors have been enhancing the social experience of motorcycling for a long time, and being able to actually hear your passenger trying to talk to you, or talk to those you are riding with, is something that we are now able to take for granted.
We have lived with the increases in security tech and tracking for some years now too, and device management has become a hot ticket in recent years - with specialist electronics businesses reaching beyond their traditional core battery charging and care competencies to charge our smartphones, iPlayers and tablets, to power our GPS, heated clothing and audio systems.
 
"integration of proprietary systems will have huge effect"
Now we are seeing a next generation of tech-thinking for riders, including endeavours to make the long dreamt of heads-up displays (HUD) concept a reality, some by using “augmented reality” (Nolan/Sony for example). In Givi’s case, windshields are the “screen of choice”, with their Samsung collaboration looking promising.
Then there is the now burgeoning area of airbags (congratulations to In&motion and IXON in particular for taking the step of severing the umbilical cord), and the area that I personally think is of massive importance and potential – the e-call market.
I use the term “market” advisedly, because whereas demand and value still remains unproven with some of the emerging technologies, there can be no doubt whatsoever that the whole area of intelligent systems and emergency calling is going to emerge as a massive market, a major boon to generations of riders moving forward, and one that future generations of motorcycle users will wonder how on earth their predecessors managed without … it will become something as basic and all pervasive as colour TV screens.
As regular readers of IDN will know, at the end of last year, 2015, we gave our “Product of the Year” award to a German business – Digades – for having the first “aftermarket”/retro-fit e-call system available. They are so far ahead of the game that at this stage there remains a “who to call” deficit in much of Europe, but that won’t last long - with such systems becoming mandatory on new cars soon, and the safety spotlight being shone on motorcycles at this time, get ready for it, it is coming, ultimately, to every motorcycle and every rider.
The integration of proprietary systems by OE motorcycle manufacturers will have a huge effect, but it seems to me that the ultimate destiny of such systems is into the realm of the individual, the realm of portability, and into integration with the other devices and communications that future generations (indeed many Millennials) are already finding impossible to imagine life without.
There are obvious dangers of course, those of system and technology platform reliability, of rider distraction, and of operator efficacy. Let’s face it – the abilities of all riders and of all tech users are not equal, and system integration and dependency will bring as many new challenges to enjoying the ride as they will bring benefits.
For a start, conditions will be one big challenge, and voice recognition will be another one – that’s even before you get your head around the challenges of password and PIN recollection, Iris or finger print recognition, and system security!
With apologies to the businesses and brands I haven’t name-checked, and the initiatives and tech opportunities I haven’t mentioned (Rapid Bike and others in the tuning market for example), the post analogue world that will be defined by the dawn of digital will be simultaneously a very different and a very familiar one in which people will still want to have fun, ride motorcycles and live long, healthy and wealthy lives.
Those who think change is their enemy should look around them and take a reality check – change is the natural order of things, it is the permanent process of the natural world, so why would or could it not also be so in the artificial world of man-made objects.
After all, our entire system of commerce is entirely dependent on obsolescence and being able to make the sale over and over. Once these new technologies and gizmos have matured, served their time and themselves been superseded, the same underlying dynamic of parting consumers from their hard-earned cash (or credit line) will still beat away at the heart of that which drives all developments, technologies, and “progress” – profit.
In the depths of the recession, systematically scouring the booths, aisles and halls of our industry’s primary shows became quite a depressing, but always essential part of our annual routine here at International Dealer News. I remember writing here in this column about the glaringly apparent death of innovation, the apparent collapse in R&D spend and new product capital.
Kudos to our motorcycle manufacturers though, because whether it has been by recycling the past with retro bikes and styling scramblers, so-called “adventure touring” (the modern twist on there being bad or no roads and too many people!), by eschewing the existing cookie-cutter mindset and embracing something called “individuality” (who’d have thought!), or by allowing production technologies, materials science and electronics (see, history can repeat!) to develop product offers fit for “new gen” riders, their success in re-inventing our wheels has laid down a platform of modest growth that the “independent” sector can also now bank.
As this edition of IDN went to press, we were still a few days away from seeing EU new registration market statistics that included October in a 10-month YTD analysis, but the one sparkling little factoid that had emerged was that the “Big Five” GISFUK markets (Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the UK) were running at +7.5 percent in motorcycle registration terms for the first 10 months of 2016, with Italy and Spain showing year-on-year growth of over 10 percent each.
Quite rightly there has been much caution and concern as to whether the early signs of modest growth that have been emerging in the past three and a half years would prove sustainable, robust and something that can be built on. Well, it looks like the market’s growth is indeed robust and steady (for now at least) and, to judge by what was on show at (mostly) busy and vibrant INTERMOT (especially) and to a lesser extent at a rather smaller EICMA, the “aftermarket” is also now poised to start clawing its way back from its own near-death experience and start “taking it to the bank” as well.

Galfer

Galfer scoops prestigious quality award

Spanish brake manufacturer Galfer has been recognised by KTM-Husqvarna for the quality of its products and the service it provides to the Austrian manufacturer. 

For more than a decade Industrias Galfer has been supplying brake discs for KTM and Husqvarna motorbikes, for both OEM models and Powerparts spare parts. Galfer produces Wave and Round brake discs for most KTM and Husqvarna road and off-road bikes.
Year after year KTM acknowledges Galfer as one of their best suppliers with the highest quality levels, and recently awarded the Spanish manufacturer with the KTM Supplier Quality Award 2015. Galfer said they were “honoured and grateful for this special recognition”.

Galfer CEO, Umberto Milesi

Founded in 1952 by Maffio Milesi, the company is still owned and operated by the Milesi family - at a 6,000 sq m facility at Granollers near the Circuit de Catalunya. Industrias Galfer employs some 50 people altogether at all its locations, and makes more than 500,000 brake discs and in excess of one million brake pad sets a year. Galfer exports to over 50 countries and has two sister companies, Galfer USA and the recently formed IG Italia.

Commenting on the accolade from KTM-Husqvarna, present day CEO and founder’s son Umberto Milesi said that “all our discs, pads and brake lines are designed and manufactured to the strictest possible quality control standards. The production process begins in the R&D Department - the materials we use are developed in our own laboratories and subjected to rigorous chemical analysis and physical testing.
“Our Methodology Department designs the production processes with the Engineering Department, and finally, the Quality Department certifies the quality and reliability of our products according to ISO standards. We apply the same attention to detail and standards to all our products, OEM fitment and retro-fit. We are continually introducing new technologies, new procedures, new materials and new product designs so we can guarantee that all our customers are receiving the best products on the market”.

www.galfer.eu

GIVI

Smart Windshield technology

The result of an innovative collaboration with Samsung Electronics, EICMA saw Italian luggage-to-helmets manufacturer GIVI unveil a prototype Smart Windshield – believed to be the first such concept to make it to the prototype stage.

Described as a “revolutionary tool for young people who ride scooters daily”, Smart Windshield is a solution designed for urban mobility that can offer “functionality for ensuring a greater level of road safety”.
According to ACVISTAT data, 24% of Millennials use their smartphone while riding, a figure which, combined with the high number using two-wheeled vehicles (8.4% among 14-19 year olds and 4.8% among those aged 20-29), confirms the importance of investing in solutions for enhancing safety and preventing dangerous distractions. 

Smart Windshield allows the rider to access information from his or her smartphone with the help of an App, where calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages, browser, e-mail and other notifications can be displayed directly on the windshield, which will allow the rider to choose whether to stop to answer them or trigger an automatic reply.
GIVI says that Smart Windshield has a special design that brings together “all the necessary technology and will be available in different scales, depending on the type of scooter or Samsung device used, to offer all riders a safe journey, with maximum brightness, even at night, and greater stability on the road”.

www.samsung.com
www.givimoto.com

ACEM

EU ‘Big 5’ motorcycle registrations +7.5 percent through October

The latest data released by ACEM (the Brussels based international motorcycle industry trade association) shows motorcycle registrations in the largest European Union markets were up by +7.5 percent in the 10 months to October 2016 at 700,098 units.

The strongest market performance among the “Big 5” was recorded in Italy, where motorcycle sales were up by +11.5 percent for the first 10 months of the year at 178,060 units.
Spain was +10.3 percent at 127,265 units; the UK was +8 percent at 102,616 units; Germany was +5.6 percent at 151,189 units, and as such the largest market so far this year; with France modestly but reassuringly up at last at +2.4 percent at 140,968 units.
www.acem.eu

Parts Europe

Dutch dealer wins Dunlop/Parts Europe KTM Duke raffle prize

Nils Imhoff from American Bike Store in the Netherlands will soon be finding out just how cool the KTM Duke 390 is, because he is the lucky winner of the Parts Europe and Dunlop raffle. 

From left:  Raoul Smits, EMEA Sales Manager Motorcycle & Racing, Goodyear & Dunlop, Nils Imhoff, American Bike Store, Xavier Williart, Sales Manager Europe, Parts Europe

Parts Europe’s German Sales Agent Diana Rausch was Lady Luck and drew their invoice-number out from the many dealers who had purchased 40 Dunlop tyres or more in the period from June 1st 2015 to May 31st 2016, or ordered 10 Dunlop tyres or more in the qualifying period from June 1st until October 30th 2016. 

Among Parts Europe’s 2017 catalogue releases, their ‘Tires, Tools, Lubes and Chemicals’ is a specialty guide to the service and maintenance products available to dealers throughout Europe from their 16,500 sq m Wasserliesch/Trier, Germany warehouse

The bike, equipped with Dunlop tyres, and the shipping, was paid for by Dunlop. Nils Imhoff was invited to join Parts Europe at EICMA where Raoul Smits, EMEA Sales Manager Motorcycle & Racing for Goodyear & Dunlop Tires, and Xavier Williart, Sales Manager Europe for Parts Europe, handed over the keys of the Dunlop-Parts Europe Duke to Nils during the show.

www.partseurope.eu

UK motorcycle registrations

UK motorcycle registrations +8.09 percent for January – October inclusive

The latest data released by the motorcycle industry trade association in the UK (MCIA) shows that new motorcycle registrations for October were essentially level with October 2015 (actually +0.21 percent at 7,745 units).

For the year-to-date registrations are +8.09 percent at 101,832 units - the highest comparable figure since before 2009.
New moped registrations were up by +0.65 percent on low volume in October (780 units), but are down by -8.22 percent for the year-to-date (7,354 units sold so far in 2016).
Total PTW registrations were up by +0.25 percent in October (8,525 units) and are +6.81 percent for the year-to-date (109,186, also the highest first 10-month market performance in the UK since before 2009).
The Trail/Enduro, Scooter, Custom, Naked-style and Adventure Sport markets are the strongest growing sectors of the UK market so far this year, at +19.8 percent (5,514 units), +14.3 percent (22,860 units), +5.1 percent (8,946 units), +11.8 percent (30,687 units – the largest single market sector in the UK so far in 2016), and +7.1 percent (16,281 units) respectively.
The small displacement scooter market is -9.4 percent for the YTD (6,699 units). The traditionally strong UK Supersports market is -5.2 percent YTD at 11,574 units, with Touring models down by -10.6 percent at just 2,153 units YTD.
Market share leader in October was Honda (1,522 units,) followed by Yamaha (1,216 units), Lexmoto (671), Triumph (507) and Kawasaki (421 units).

News Briefs

In response to the Brexit triggered exchange rate instability (the GBP has lost considerable value relative to the Euro since the summer), Ducati has announced an average 4.8% price rise on existing models for the UK market effective January 1st 2017.

Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso III has been chosen by Ducati as original for the new Monster 1200/S in 120/70 ZR17 M / C (58W) TL (D) front and 190/55 ZR 17 M/C (75W) TL rear (D) sizes for both versions. The Mk III Diablo Rosso is said to feature a twin-compound construction (rear) with high percentages of silica, racing-derived profiles and a tread pattern that is an evolution of the flash symbol already present on the Diablo Supercorsa.

British Cafe Racer style helmet specialist Davida has updated is popular ‘Speedster’ open-facer with a v3 that sees it receiving dual approval markings – meeting ECER22-05 and DOT FMVSS No. 218.

Following its acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Peugeot’s scooter business, giant Indian conglomerate Mahindra has acquired ownership of the legendary BSA brand as the major players in the Indian PTM market continue to jockey for strategic and brand positioning.

Omnia Racing of Naples, Italy, offers dealers access to a massive range of branded parts and accessories – among them the high-tech Nitro range of shock absorbers and the legendary British made Hagon suspension programme.

INTERMOT say that their 2016 attendance was up at 220,000 visitors. A big part of the increase is thought to be due to the debut of ‘INTERMOT Customized’, the new show-within-show concept that plays host to the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, and saw Hall 10 at Koelnmesse emerge as the acclaimed new international headquarters event for the fast-growing custom motorcycle market. Some 70 percent or more of show visitors are reported as visiting ‘INTERMOT Customized’ – making it the #1 best attended custom bike show in the world.

German motorcycle registrations

German motorcycle registrations +7.33 percent for first ten months

The latest statistics released by the IVM, the motorcycle industry trade association in Germany, show new motorcycle registrations up by +37.22 percent in October at 4,760 units for the month – the best October market performance in Germany since before 2008.

Cumulative new motorcycle registrations for the first 10 months of the year are +7.33 percent at 104,733 units so far – also the best first 10-month market performance in Germany since before 2008, when there had been 97,694 registrations for the corresponding period.
In total powered two-wheeler terms, the market in Germany was up by +28.76 percent in October (7,637 units) and is +5.49 percent for the year-to-date at 149,975 units.
The top selling model in Germany so far this year is the BMW R 1200 GS (6,615 units), followed by Yamaha’s MT-07 (3,224 units), Kawasaki’s ER-6n (2,511 units), with the BMW R nineT now up to fourth best seller (2,370 units), ahead of Honda’s CRF 1000 ‘Africa Twin’ (2,249 units) and BMW’s S 1000 XR sixth (1,827 units).
With six models in the top 20 sellers list, it is no surprise that BMW remains motorcycle sales market share leader in its home market for the first 10 months of the year, having sold 22,861 units for a 15.24 percent market share (down a little from the 22,962 units they sold for a 16.15 percent market share in the first 10-months of 2015).
Yamaha is second with a 13.30 percent market share (19,954 units sold YTD), Honda third with 12.12 percent of the German market (18,175 units), KTM in fourth place with 9.90 percent (14,843 units) and Harley-Davidson, having overtaken Kawasaki for fifth spot, with 7.16 percent (10,743 units).
Sportsbikes have taken 30.43 percent of the new motorcycle market in Germany so far this year (31,869 units), with Enduro bikes the second largest sector at 24.01 percent of the German motorcycle market (25,148 units); so-called “Classically styled” bikes (Naked style models mostly) are the third most popular style of bike in Germany so far in 2016, taking 22.00 percent of the market (23.041 units), followed by “Chopper” style bikes as the fourth most popular sector (12.67 percent, 13,269 units YTD).

SHAD

CB500X luggage options

Barcelona, Spain based luggage manufacturer NAD is offering SHAD brand cases and bags that will increase the load capacity of Honda’s CB500X.

Their SH36 side cases mount with their new 3P side mounting system – an integrated, light and easy to mount design concept. With enough capacity to hold a XXL full-face helmet, they have “an elegant design and innovative shapes”. Its structural frame is said to give more rigidity and seal to make them lighter than other cases of similar characteristics.
For the tank, the small, magnetically mounted SL12 features reflectors and a compartment for Smartphones with touch screens.
The “practical and sporty” SH 39 is said to be the lightest of its class, with an optimised interior volume; all SHAD top cases include the plate and hardware.

NAD  S.L.
www.shad.es

Motorex

Racing Pro 10W/40 4-stroke MX engine oil

Motorex Racing Pro 10W/40 4T Cross is a synthetic reinforced mineral oil that has been developed for MX race use.
Features include high temperature stability and sheer strength, and high-tech additives to overcome the conflicting demands of a wet motocross clutch on the one hand, and the lubrication of a highly tuned and very high-revving four-stroke racing engine on the other.
The Motorex Racing Pro 4T Cross meets all requirements demanded by Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda for the use in their factory machines and motocross bikes.
“But you don’t have to be a works rider in order to use this MOTOREX racing oil“, emphasizes Ronald Kabella, Director Powersports of the Swiss oil refiners. “Any hobby racer will also benefit from the performance of this high-tech lubricant due to the increased engine output and optimised engine reliability”.

MOTOREX
www.motorex.com

MIVV

MIVV power gain options for ‘Africa Twin’

Italian exhaust manufacturer MIVV has a selection of replacement muffler and full system options for Honda’s popular CRF 1000L ‘Africa Twin’.

Back in 1993 the MIVV R&D department developed exhaust set-ups for the ‘original’ XRV 750 ‘Africa Twin’, and now, 23 years later, with Honda having brought the iconic brand name back, like so many long-established aftermarket vendors, MIVV are now offering AT V 2.0!
Two mufflers are available from MIVV’s Sport range - ‘Oval’ and ‘Speed Edge’, with both available in two street legal versions for a 4-option line-up.
All are equipped with a removable dB killer, with the additional option of a “No Kat” tube, also in two versions - one of which is compatible with the factory silencer, the other additionally compatible with MIVV’s own header pipe design.
The top-of-the-line ‘Speed Edge’ features a “crushed” body on the inner side, so it hugs the motorcycle chassis and provides weight savings. It uses anchoring straps and a carbon end cap (3K twill impregnated with special resins to resist high temperatures). The body is in stainless steel, available for the Africa Twin in Steel Black finishes.
Weight savings of more than 6kg are available with up to +2.2hp and +3.4 Nm power and torque gains for the street legal ‘Oval’ with the carbon end cap at 4,600 rpm; with weight savings and increased power of +1.59hp with +2.44 Nm torque for the street legal ‘Speed Edge’.

MIVV S.p.A.
www.mivv.it

ShowZone

UK Dealer Expo, Stockholm, Zurich, Dublin and Madrid headline a busy new year show schedule
 
The ‘majors’ may be over for another year (two years in the case of INTERMOT), but with the debut of ‘INTERMOT Customized’ showing that there is vibrancy on the biggest of stages.
However, the next three or four months now see a number of the smaller European markets and specialty events take their moment in the spotlight as we head into 2017.
The new year kicks-off with the popular UK Dealer Expo at Stoneleigh, near Coventry in England, opening its doors for the 22nd time for three days from Sunday January 15 to Tuesday 17.

With new motorcycle registrations growing quickly in the UK, the past four years are said to have seen an average of 3,800 visitors representing some 1,800 UK motorcycle industry businesses. With research showing that 89 percent of all show visitors are decision makers, with 80 percent of them going there to do business, it is no wonder that a massive 91 percent of 2016 exhibitors said they planned to return in 2017.

The UK Dealer Expo is Europe's largest Dealer specific show. It averages 3,800 visitors, representing some 1,800 businesses, 89 percent of who are said to be buying "decision makers"; at the time of going to press IDN was told that exhibit space is already sold out for 2017, with 6 weeks to go until the show opens on January 15th, 2017

The Expo is some 30 minutes away from Birmingham International Airport and at the heart of the UK motorway network 
www.motorcycle-expo.com
A week later Moto Bike Expo (MBE) will fill four halls at the Verona Expo Centre in northern Italy from Friday January 20 to Sunday 22. A combined custom and ‘mainstream’ consumer expo, “Verona” has seen attendance grow ever since its move from Padua in 2009. www.motorbikeexpo.it
At the end of January, Sweden’s annual show, MC-Massan, returns to the capital Stockholm (26 to 29 January 2017) in its biennial rotation with Gothenburg. www.mcmassan.se
Meanwhile, in the United States, the annual specialty V-Twin Expo will take place at its usual downtown exhibition centre venue in Cincinnati, Ohio (Saturday January 28 and Sunday 29. www.vtwin-expo.com
Billed as “The Only Show of its Kind”, which it is - as the only independently owned and operated dealer show for the Harley-Davidson aftermarket and custom v-twin parts and accessory industry – it is nonetheless a crowded few weeks for motorcycle dealers of all kinds in the United States with the market’s two major parts and accessory distributors holding their own dealer shows in February: Tucker Rocky/Bikers Choice are playing host to their dealers in Texas on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 of February, and just 10 days later Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties set up shop at the RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February.

In fact, that weekend are at least three motorcycle industry events in play that we know of, with the annual MCN Show (as it is known) taking place at the Excel Expo Centre in East London from January 17 to 19 www.mcnmotorcycleshow.com and the excellent Swiss Moto being staged at Zurich from February 16 to 19 www.swiss-moto.ch; the following weekend it is the chance for Dutch riders to join in the fun with Motorbeurs, the largest motorcycle show in The Netherlands, taking place from 23 to 25 January at Utrecht www.motorbeursutrecht.nl

Highlights in March and April include (but are not limited to!) the biennial Carole Nash Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show, taking place at Dublin, Ireland, from March 3 to 5
www.irishmotorbikeshow.com; MotoSalon, Prague, March 2 to 5 www.pvv.cz;  Moto Days, Rome, March 9 to 12 www.motodays.it; Daytona Bike Week, Florida, USA, March 10 to 19
www.officialbikeweek.com

MotoMadrid from March 24 to 26 www.salonmotomadrid.com; Tokyo Motorcycle Show, March 24 to 26 www.motorcycleshow.org; InaBike, Jakarta, Indonesia, March 29 to April 1 www.inabike.net; Motorcycle Taiwan, 20 to 23 April www.motorcycletaiwan.com.tw